Back to Elko, Nevada for our 2010 Vacation. We left Elko last year with a feeling that there was a lot more to see, and I also wanted to bring my sister, Nancy, so she could see the sights and we were so happy to have her along. This time, I planned the trip ahead of time so we were more prepared and knew what we were going to do on what day. We left on Thursday at one o’clock, from the Pollock Pines area in CA, stopped at Subway and got a sandwich and we were on our way. We stopped at Fernley, NV to fuel up and a potty break and again at Winnemucca and to have dinner. We arrived at Elko at nine thirty and checked into the High Desert Inn at the East side of town. The High Desert Inn was 3 out of 5 for me. It was clean enough but the carpets seemed to be on the dirty side. There was ample parking for the truck and quads, swimming pool and plenty of ice makers one on each floor for filling our little quad ice chests. The places we liked to eat in Elko are – Original Winger’s 1165 E. Jennings Way, Dos Amigos 1770 Mountain City Hwy, and J R’s bar and grill in the Gold Country Inn and Casino.

Our plans were to go quad at Spruce Mountain on Friday, Drive the truck to Lamoille Canyon on Saturday and have a leisurely day and picnic lunch, on Sunday take the long trip ATV-quad riding to Jarbidge via through Charleston, and then on Monday quad through Harrison Pass in the Ruby Mountains.

Quading Spruce Mountain and Jarbidge via Charleston are my top picks to go to from Elko. And the ride in our truck up Lamoille Canyon for a picnic lunch is a must on every vacation to Elko.

Our Friday trip to Spruce Mountain was great! We saw pretty much the same as we did last year but we did drive down the back side to see a little bit more than what we saw before. We looked up some history on the mines in the area on the internet before we went there. I’ll have her inter the link.

My sister Nancy takes a lot more pictures than we do so we have plenty more pictures this time to show.

Our Slide Show section has a great slide show of this trip.

Lamoille Canyon

Again we saw the same things as last year. It was a little earlier in the season so the Aspens hadn’t turned color yet. We had a picnic at this gorgeous picnic area in an Aspen Grove which was great and had a wonderful time with my family relaxing and taking in the majestic sights.

Our Slide Show section will have a great slide show of the Lamoille Canyon trip soon.

Jarbidge via Charleston

A Look Inside the Jarbidge Jail

Last year we went to Jarbidge taking the route from Wild Horse Lake. It was a 114.6 mile round trip and traveled many canyons and we saw some nice scenery but it covered country in the lower elevations. This trip to Jarbidge we decided to go a different route Via Charleston. We still traveled north on Hwy 225 but at about 75 miles there is the turnoff 746 to Charleston and Jarbidge. There we staged the quads and started our trip. The map said that our turnoff to Jarbidge was 20 miles and then another 27 miles to Jarbidge. The roads are in great shape and on 746 the strait always you can cruise at about 40 MPH safely. We saw cattle, sheep, horses, wild horses and one single Antelope in our travel going across the road so stay cautious for animals crossing. There are cars, trucks and motorcycles traveling the roads also, so keep a lookout for them also. So, keep that in mind when you are driving looking at the landscape. At the junction of 746, 747 and 748 there is a little Lake you can stop and take a break at.

On the Way to Jarbidge

From there we headed north on 748 to Charleston / Jarbidge. There are a few old empty houses to see as you head closer to the mountains. After you pass by the houses you will come to a “Y” in the road. Stay to the right which is still 748 / NF 062. A few more miles and you will see what is left of Charleston on your right. If you go to fast you could blow right passed it. After that you start climbing into the Copper Basin. The Copper Basin is a beautiful area with Groves of Aspens and Evergreens. As you drive half way around the basin climbing in elevation in the Jarbidge Mountains you look across at the Copper Mountains on the other side.

On the way to Jarbidge – Aspens

As you are making your way around to the other side of the Basin there are many small lakes you are looking down on from the road and also corn Lilly’s and wild flowers cover the area in the spring. From there you will travel through forest and two summits , Coon Creek Summit at about 8400’and Bear Creek Summit at about 8500’ , before descending down into the canyon and then to the Old Historic Gold town of Jarbidge. At Jarbidge you are only a few miles away from the Idaho state line. If you travel through Jarbidge and down the canyon for about 5 miles or so and back it is worth the time for the views that we saw on our last trip. We had our lunch at the Outdoor Inn while at Jarbidge. The burgers were great and so were the people! While your there buy a T-Shirt to remind you of your trip. I did and I like it. We would like to stay there, possibly in the future, to see more of the area on our quads.

Our Slide Show section has a great slide show of this trip.

Old Cabin Ruins on the Road to Jarbidge

Harrison Pass to the Ruby Valley

Our plans for this trip didn’t go as planned as what was on the Nevada Map as dirt or gravel roads ended up being paved. On the Map it showed that Harrison Pass road was not a paved road way before the summit but actually it was paved almost all the way to the summit. So we staged our quads at the end of the paved road near the summit. From that point we drove our quads up the ½ mile or so to the top of the summit. From there we took a dirt road that was on our left up around these great gigantic boulders and up to a gate. We opened the gate, traveled through, and closed the gate behind us. We continued traveling up the road looking at the scenery as we rode. As we traveled up the mountain there was a creek flowing down a ravine with Beaver Dams one after another after another and with Aspen groves all over the mountain side. We drove the road for several miles up the mountain until we decided to turn around. As we were driving that end of the road you could see that a road from down below came up the mountainside and joined the one we were on which you could probable start from that road lower on Harrison Pass road . So that might be a better staging point than we took. We drove back down to Harrison Pass road and continued our journey down to Ruby Valley. When we got to the bottom of the road it ended at a road that according to the map was again supposed to be a dirt or gravel road but was paved instead. From that point we could see a road to the left of us down the paved road so we decided to see where it went. That ended up to be a good idea because we found an old mine to look at and another one across the canyon that looked like the road was more challenging than we wanted to travel on. We were not able to travel the Ruby Valley like we wanted to and Harrison road got cut short but we still had an enjoyable ride. What needed to be done is to start the trip on the dirt road that is at the base of Harrison Pass road ( 353 or 357) and head up from there.